Sunday, December 4, 2011

TNF50 end of season

I’ll say one thing about ultras – when things don’t go as
planned, you generally have a long time to think about it before getting to the
finish line.

I went out with the leaders yesterday at the (North Face
Challenge 50mile championships. Or the North Face 50. Or the San Francisco 50
North Face Challenge. What the hell are we calling this thing? TNF50?) TNF50
(redundancy noted). There was talk that the lead pack went out too fast. Even
some annoyance at the leaders that were setting the blistering pace.

But, a. when there’s $10,000 on the line, of course it’s
gonna go out fast and b. two or three people didn’t think it was too fast
because they maintained the pace all the way through and made some money in the
end.

I was not one of those people. I finished 34th which,
like I said, gave me some time to reflect.

I knew what I was getting in to with this race. I knew that
the best competition in the States would be present. I knew that it would go
out fast. I knew that it would be won in a blistering fast time (okay… I didn’t
think it would be run in 6:19!). I knew that it would hurt and, still, I
thought I could win it. There, I said it. I thought I could win. I didn't sign on a
10k car on friday but, in the weeks leading up to the race, I did meditate on the
later stages when I would need to suffer.

Running with Mike, Geoff, Dakota, Galen, Adam Campbell and
several others in the pre-dawn morning, chatting about later stages of the
race, each of us wondering what a few hours might bring, it seemed clear that
most of them thought there might be a chance that I’d still be fighting for
position near the finish.

As Geoff passed me, Dakota, Adam and finally Galen - the sun
hadn’t even risen - I realized that that was why my legs were filling with
lactic acid. That was the root of my fatigue. That was why I would continue to
drop from the top five to top ten to top twenty and finally 34th.

I wanted it too much.

I wanted this race so much that I didn’t waste any time in
October with resting. I remained positive through Muir Beach(12m), Cardiac(18m)
and even McKenna Gulch(23m) when I was over three minutes behind the lead pack,
thinking I might be able to reel them back in, but my legs just wouldn’t
cooperate. By Stinson Beach(28m) I knew I was done. I traded my hand held
bottles for my small pack and prepared myself for a 22mile death march.

Anna Frost passed me shortly after. She was flying. 1,400
vert from Stinson up to Cardiac. Anna was “giving this hill a bit of hell” as
she said when she passed me. She saw me suffering. She told me to join the
pace, which I did for about 20seconds before sending her off. People’ll be
thinking she pulled me through Trans Rockies, I
thought, but then didn’t care what people thought. Ellie Grenwood passed me on
the other side of Cardiac. She was also giving it hell.

I learned that my season ended three weeks ago. It just
didn’t occur to me until 20miles into a 50miler.

Finishing 34th is just as painful as finishing 1st,
I concluded. It just takes longer.

I’m happy to not be running for a little bit. I got on my
bike today and rode from the city, over the bridge, into the headlands and back
into the city. I love my bike.

My season is over. I did what I wanted and dabbled in
distances that I wasn’t familiar with. I had success and failure.

What I really want, though, is for some Ultra Runners to
step up to the same challenge and try out some short races. Not just try them
out, but train for them. Work hard for them. What I saw at TNF50, for the first
time in US ultra running, was a field of runners as talented as the Mount
Washington field. That alone, made my 34th place finish a great
success. I’m not saying this because I want to beat a bunch of people that just
beat me. In fact, I’m saying it because I think just the opposite. I think they
might be able to win it. Hell, Matt Carpenter won both! Maybe somebody will do
it in the same year….

Am I ranting again?

Anyway. Prove me wrong. Mount Washington is slated to be the
selection race of the 2012 US Mountain Running Team. In the past six years I’ve
seen the team grow from a middle of the pack crowd to podium. The women have
taken the win and will again. The men have placed third and second. First is
not out of reach.

Great post Rickey and nice job finishing TNF50-as painful as it was. I've enjoyed your writing and I think I speak for many who hope to see you post more frequently. I look forward to meeting you one day.

Rickey respect. Like you say, you never know if you don't try. You did that and dug deep. it was painful for me to see u as i turned the corner but i knew you out of anyone would be taking it in each and every stride. And that is why you will be successful...even on the not so good days. Xx. Happy days.

definitely enjoyed basking in our sorrows on that descent to Stinson Beach, great running with you for a bit. You tested your limits that day and went for it; huge victory in my opinion for not being afraid to face the pain head on.

Total respect to you Rickey, I was impressed to you see pushing on when I passed you rather than take the easy option and bail. Strength of character for sure. Great to finally meet you and hope to see you at another ultra where you are well rested and show what damage you can do.

I think it is much easier to go from Washington to a hilly 50 miler than the other way around. I agree with Bryon that the mountain running background is key for Anna, Kilian, and Matt. A number of the top runners from San Fran went to Sierra Zinal, right?

The biggest issue may simply be interest. Most ultra runners prefer long runs over the intense workouts needed to run a fast time at Washington. Some guys would almost have to change sports for a while.

I'm starting to wonder why I bother with the auto road when I could be doing Pemi Loop or Presidential Traverse.

Did I see you ran a Traverse this year. Did you get a time on that??

While it would be interesting to see Kilian, Roes, Wolfe, etc. run Washington, I'd rather see them try the White Mountain Hut Traverse if they came to New England.

Rickey, nice work! I love to read your rants. Speaking of Mt Washington... you're on the homepage. Come back to CO and be my trainer for Leadville. It's official, I've entered for 2012 and I'm lost without you. Jed

@ben - i did a very shortened version of the pres traverse when i was out there in june. i heard about the record - stout! i'd love to give it a go. nobody's nailed it since 1963!?

i agree w/ you about going from mt. wash to an ultra - probably easier, but speed is at the root of everything. training for both mt. wash and a 50/100mile is not impossible and probably quite beneficial.

Ricky you are quite the guy. I love how you think about things and just seem to love to live what life tosses your way. It is because of that you are the runner you are. Instead of dropping out last Saturday you made the best of it, because of that you are a better person. It's one thing to drop because you are hurt, but just because it's not your day? Good job to you. Stay strong!!

That Hut Traverse record is interesting. Some of the splits in the record run are hard to fathom, and this is a pretty common opinion with those that live up there. Matt Cull was a pretty solid mountain runner, and his time was an hour slower than the 1963 time.

I love running pretty much anywhere as long as I'm outside. As much as I love running on trails, I find it so much easier to run on paved roads. That's why I'm so glad there are companies like paving rock aberdeen sd around.

I started running when I was in middle school. In high school I joined the cross-country team after a friend informed me that it was co-ed (the soccor team was not). My college running career was essentially non-existent as I was never able to run a time that would seccure a spot for me on to the CU running team. Things changed following a third missed attempt. I abandoned the type A approach to training that had been injuring me and leading me nowhere for a type B, run-as-you-feel philosophy. I won my first notable race a few months later at the age of 25.
For the past two years my running has taken me from the Rockies to the Appalacians, from the Empire State Building to the Fjords of Norway, from deep valley floors to high mountain tops.